Soundy

The shorter the lens focal length (expressed in millimeters), the wider the view. On a 1/4" sensor, a 2.6mm lens will give you about a 90-degree field of view. If you want anything more specific than that, we'd need more details on the type of camera (preferably with make and model), the area to be covered, and the mounting position of the camera (height, distance from the area, etc.). U see, f u typ english, u get english rplis.

Vs lbh jnag crbcyr gb nafjre lbhe dhrfgvbaf naq qvfphff PPGI jvgu lbh, gurl unir gb or noyr gb haqrefgnaq jung lbh'er fnlvat... naq jung lbh'er fnlvat vf ABG HAQREFGNAQNOYR. Know what I mean?

i dont no abt blackpool specficly but they mite use smth lik fiber or teh internets. BTW, do check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuation

That's not English, that text shorthand and kindergarten level spelling. Let's see if I can do this... umm u wood tk a cble w/ 2 bncs nd a bnc cuplr 2 join thm, lk this: I think I broke a nail doing that...

You might do better if you speak English instead of Internet. Your posts make my head hurt.

Without significant mechanical modifications, no, it is likely not possible to speed up your PTZ.

Yeah, pretty sure your average end-user would just get frustrated at the amount of time it would take the machine to do that... most of them are non-multitasking so sitting staring at the progress bar waiting for the thing to complete would absorb all their attention. Look at it this way: most times you're going to need something like that in DVD-Video format, it will be for "business" issues - store theft, credit card fraud, etc. Coming in to extract and process and convert video is one of the services we, as professionals, can provide our clients to take the worries off them.

The Vigils do that, no batch required: they put their player/codec installer on the disc with an autorun, so when you pop it in (at least on a Windows machine), it launches, checks if the player and codec already exist on the machine, starts the install if they're not, and just loads the video if they area. The player includes an Authentication function that will tell you within seconds if the video has been tampered with or damaged at all.

Well, that's the other thing: there's more to the structure of a DVD-Video than just the video format. Right. Point is, it's probably a lot quicker to simply do it on another computer afterward. Export to your authenticated format and keep that for your original, then load a copy onto a new, fast PC and author as many DVD-Video discs as you need from there. Then you can add your fancy menus and stuff too

yeah, those typically last a good 15 minutes...

Well, the half-dozen or so extra power outlets required by your average system can be a bit of an inconvenience... means an extra trip to the Home Depot sometimes. So many damn power cords all over the place...

Might be, if you're electronically competent enough to open them up and hack the internal power supply... You could give them the appropriate 24VAC supply plugged into an off-the-shelf small-office-type UPS... or a better idea might be to just swap them for some 12VDC cameras. If I had a bunch of equivalent 12VDC cameras to offer, I'd swap in a second - I find 24VAC to be less problematic overall, less worry about voltage drop over long runs, and far less chance of getting ground loops, especially when using them with baluns.

Oh man... was it in here, or on a.s.a a few years back... I think the latter... someone was telling the story of how he pre-wired an entire townhouse complex... left all the wires hanging out of a box where the comms closet was supposed to be in each unit, all nicely labeled, all with plenty of extra length... came back the next week to find the drywallers had chopped them all off flush with the wall and boarded right over them.... oh yeah, and then handed him all the nicely labeled and coiled chopped-off ends. If memory serves, that turned out to be a very expensive contract for the drywallers...

Hard to say. Most (not all) PTZs support Pelco D and/or P as a sort of "generic" protocol, in addition to their own. No idea if that's the case with these, but one or the other is a safe bet to try.

Quick AND fast, you say?? The Rhino systems are nice if you do lots of labeling, because they have so many options for label types, sizes, colors, etc., and every now and then you can find a good deal on them - I don't know if it's a factory promotion or just one by our supplier (ADI/Burtek) but every year or so they have a deal where you buy 10 rolls of labels ($10-$13 each) and they throw in the label machine for free... essentially making the whole package half-price. I have yet to justify this to the boss, unfortunately, but it's pretty darn tempting to shell out for myself. Then again, I have a little $30 Brother labeller that I've been using for about four years now and I'm still on the original roll of label tape... that's how much I actually need to use the thing.

Well in that case, have it fire a James Bond-type magnetic tracking bug at the bottom of their car and just follow them home.

This isn't really a "security camera" topic (maybe a mod can move the thread to the appropriate area), but... My standard advice to anyone looking for a DSLR is: look at your specs and price range and narrow your choice down to two or three models, then... GO TO THE STORE AND USE THEM. Handle each of them, turn them around in your hands, work the controls, navigate the menus, fire some test shots, swap some lenses... and choose the one that is MOST COMFORTABLE FOR YOU! Ultimately, the best camera is the one that gets used, and a camera that you find confusing and frustrating and uncomfortable to operate is more likely to sit on a shelf collecting dust, where all the specs and measurements and arguments in the world will mean absolutely squat. Nobody else can tell you which model or brand you'll enjoy using, and ENJOYING photography is the most important thing!

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode73 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OCoeLf-DTk

You'll have to take that up with Torontonians - they're all convinced they're the center of the universe too! Welcome aboard, from Vancouver, BC (on the Wet Coast)!

I know of none, but I can think of a few drawbacks to it... One, the video has to be converted/transcoded to MPEG-2 for that... which can be a long and CPU-intensive process, which is not something you'd normally want to do ON your DVR. Two, it's not nearly as space-efficient as the codecs typically used for CCTV - at lowest quality, a 4.7GB DVD will hold about 6 hours video, while a data DVD will allow you to put several hours' worth of several cameras. For example, DVR-specific file formats allow proper playback of video recorded at lower framerates, while transcoding for DVD-Video playback requires converting to 30fps (well, 29.97fps for NTSC drop-frame video), which in itself greatly increases the storage space needed. That may be fine for short clips for use in court, but I often see the police wanting half-a-day's output of several or all cameras, which would require multiple DVDs. Three, most DVRs embed timecode and other authentication data in their native video, which allows users (lawyers, police, court officers) to prove that the video hasn't been edited or tampered with. Once you convert to a different format, you lose that proof. Again, a playable DVD-Video might be handy for courtroom playback, but you'd still need a native version that can be authenticated. Most DVRs I've seen that will export AVI, have to convert the video on-the-fly, and it takes FAR longer than exporting directly to their native format, and also takes a lot more space. Rather than exporting video in AVI, it's usually better to export in the DVR's own format, then convert that later as necessary. The conversion will probably go a lot faster anyway.

The "proper" solution here is simple: a quad or multiplexor with proper loop-through connections. Disconnect required cameras from DVR, connect to quad inputs, connect quad outputs to DVR inputs... all done. Clean, simple, won't give you any problems, no worries about loading or signal loss.

What do you mean by "send a message remotely"? Are you looking to send an email or SMS (text message) to someone when an alert is generated? I can't think of a lot of use for VoIP on a DVR - what, so you can talk to it??

Hey, when do WE get to come down for some snowmob... er... I mean, TRAINING??

It might be possible to replace the CDRW drive with a DVD writer.... but that would largely depend on how the DVR supports it. It's really had to tell anything else without at least a make and model of the DVR.